Tourist killed by runaway garbage truck

30 August 2012 - 11:55
By Sapa-dpa

A man was killed by a runaway garbage truck on a pedestrian street in the Danish capital of Copenhagen, police said.

The small two-seat electric garbage truck was being used to collect garbage on a section of the popular pedestrian street Stroget when it unexpectedly accelerated and ran into several people, killing the man while others sustained minor injuries, a police spokesman told dpa.

Witnesses said the driver was not in the vehicle when the accident occurred at around 7 pm (1700GMT). The driver and several bystanders were reported to have been shocked.

The deceased was a US tourist in his 60s, Danish television reported.

The city of Copenhagen said it would stop using the vehicles pending an investigation into the cause of the accident.